Sneaking a Shower

[Tony]

Well...

The dining car is cooking meals anyway. As a coach passenger, I should be given one for free.

There is an empty bedroom anyway. As a coach passenger, I should be able to use it for free.

 

[Rail Freak]

Isn't there a fixed amount of water in a tank somewhere per car? If I were a sleeper pax opening a dry spigot and found out the water went to a coach pax for anything less to Amtrak than I had paid for my ticket, I would be a little waxed.

Seems I remember reading a post that was talking about 3 minute shower controls?

 

[Guest]

Well...
The dining car is cooking meals anyway. As a coach passenger, I should be given one for free.

There is an empty bedroom anyway. As a coach passenger, I should be able to use it for free.

I DON'T think SO!

 

[had8ley]

Well...
The dining car is cooking meals anyway. As a coach passenger, I should be given one for free.

There is an empty bedroom anyway. As a coach passenger, I should be able to use it for free.

Something tells me you would be you might be the first to pick up the phone and call the CEO of Amtrak complaining about "the foul smelling individual" that Amtrak sold a ticket to and made sit next to you. And who knows; he might have worked all night in a hot sweaty foundry and was on his way to see his sick or dying father. There's two sides to every coin. Maybe you need to flip it over once and a while.

 

[had8ley]

If Amtrak were smart (like that would ever happen ) and start to offer the option of a shower for coach, I wouldn't try it!

What would it take to put a shower in either a coach car or a lounge car? I'm thinking most of the challenge would be finding the physical space for it.

You would also need someone to clean and monitor the facility. Some strange things can happen in coach. With the liquor influence in the lounge it would not be a good location.

 

[gswager]

Allthough I'm not a slob and take some pride in my appearence, I've gone 3 days straight with no shower during my busy holiday hours at work. When you walk out the door of your house at 7:30am and return home at 10pm or later, a shower sounds like more effort that I don't want to expend at that very moment. I usually will go to bed, lay out the same uniform in the other bedroom, get up and put on a fresh pair of sox and undies, brush the teeth, deodorant and walk back out the door for another 12+ hour day of work. This goes on for almost a month and I have learned that I don't have to shower up daily. Sometimes I just stick my head under the kitchen sink and shampoo it real quick. By the time Christmas arrives, no matter how much I have showered, I still look and feel like crud! :lol: I usually spend Janurary sleeping as much as I can. So I would easily be able to go 26 hours without a shower!

Can anybody beat me for not taking shower for 7 days? h34r: I did. Good thing that I was somewhere in the mountains with a breeze of mountain scents, backpacking.

I would agree that using washcloth is better than nothing.

 

[ThayerATM]

Well...
The dining car is cooking meals anyway. As a coach passenger, I should be given one for free.

There is an empty bedroom anyway. As a coach passenger, I should be able to use it for free.

The thruway is already there. You should get to use it for free? The train and tracks are already there: :lol: Doesn't make sense to me that you should get to use them for free.

A coach passenger is entitled to everything that they've paid for. A sleeper passenger is entitled to everything that they've paid for. Crossing that line is simply stealing. No amount of rationalization can justify stealing.

 

[Rail Freak]

Allthough I'm not a slob and take some pride in my appearence, I've gone 3 days straight with no shower during my busy holiday hours at work. When you walk out the door of your house at 7:30am and return home at 10pm or later, a shower sounds like more effort that I don't want to expend at that very moment. I usually will go to bed, lay out the same uniform in the other bedroom, get up and put on a fresh pair of sox and undies, brush the teeth, deodorant and walk back out the door for another 12+ hour day of work. This goes on for almost a month and I have learned that I don't have to shower up daily. Sometimes I just stick my head under the kitchen sink and shampoo it real quick. By the time Christmas arrives, no matter how much I have showered, I still look and feel like crud! :lol: I usually spend Janurary sleeping as much as I can. So I would easily be able to go 26 hours without a shower!

Can anybody beat me for not taking shower for 7 days? h34r: I did. Good thing that I was somewhere in the mountains with a breeze of mountain scents, backpacking.

I would agree that using washcloth is better than nothing.

That was you! I thought it was a paper mill :lol: !!!

 

[Tony]

Something tells me you would be you might be the first to pick up the phone and call the CEO of Amtrak complaining about "the foul smelling individual" that Amtrak sold a ticket to and made sit next to you.

Well, no. I get a roomette.

And I pay for that. That is why I don't feel that anyone in coach as any right to the same level of service and same extra amenities, but for free.

If someone wants a shower, they need to pay for the level of service which includes a shower.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Do any of the larger stations have showers, either free or pay? I think of the showers you see at truck stops and believe with increasing train travel, that could be a little more revenue for the station.

 

[Shotgun7]

Placing showers in coach would be one of the worst ideas Amtrak ever acted on. For one, compare the public bathrooms in Superliner sleepers to any coach car, be it Superliner, Amfleet, or Horizon. On average, most sleeper bathrooms are immaculately clean and never smell unless the toilet has issues. Most coach bathrooms are smelly, filthy, have clogged toilets, or simply have unwanted "surprises" waiting in the toilets when you walk in. Imagine public coach showers!! You could probably only fit one shower in a coach car of 60 people, for one, so water would run out very quickly and lines would stretch through the coach aisles and possibly through vestibules. People seeking privacy would probably end up doin it in the big shower space and god only knows how much more filth can be added to a shower as opposed to a toilet and sink.

When I said I might possibly "sneak" a shower in a sleeping car at night, I see now the infeasibility of it, but also knew before hand that if SA's knew about this activity, it would be entirely wrong of them to not try to prevent it, I can understand how sleeper pax would be irked about their water supply being wasted on coach pax who paid ALOT less.

 

[nr272]

Can anybody beat me for not taking shower for 7 days? h34r: I did. Good thing that I was somewhere in the mountains with a breeze of mountain scents, backpacking.
I would agree that using washcloth is better than nothing.

I've gone for 2+ weeks without a shower, although I was right on a lake.

noah

 

[Konrad]

Placing showers in coach would be one of the worst ideas Amtrak ever acted on. For one, compare the public bathrooms in Superliner sleepers to any coach car, be it Superliner, Amfleet, or Horizon. On average, most sleeper bathrooms are immaculately clean and never smell unless the toilet has issues. Most coach bathrooms are smelly, filthy, have clogged toilets, or simply have unwanted "surprises" waiting in the toilets when you walk in. Imagine public coach showers!! You could probably only fit one shower in a coach car of 60 people, for one, so water would run out very quickly and lines would stretch through the coach aisles and possibly through vestibules. People seeking privacy would probably end up doin it in the big shower space and god only knows how much more filth can be added to a shower as opposed to a toilet and sink. When I said I might possibly "sneak" a shower in a sleeping car at night, I see now the infeasibility of it, but also knew before hand that if SA's knew about this activity, it would be entirely wrong of them to not try to prevent it, I can understand how sleeper pax would be irked about their water supply being wasted on coach pax who paid ALOT less.

Must be a rough lot you get in coach - Australia has had showers for coach passengers on the transcontinentals for decades (byo towel) and I haven't heard of any problems.

Then, in the U.S. and at home I always take a bedroom and have a shower all to myself!

 

[sky12065]

I agree with every point made against coach passengers using any sleeping car facilitites up to this message. I will avoid repeating points, but I do have additional issues to add to the discussion.

In refering to Superliners only, you need to keep in mind that each sleeper contains 21 rooms and if you assume that the passenger average for the sleeper is 42 travelers, you then have to realize that ANYONE who is not entitled to use the facilities of that sleeper (includes other sleepers excluding emergency situations) can place a potentially impossible stress on the resources of that car.

My other point is that proper use of the showers or rest rooms already provides a situation that affects passengers in the lower level of the sleeper. I have used the room for disabled passengers on Superliners 8 times in the past. Wish I didn't but c'est la vie! Now all the passengers of that sleeper need to use the shower near the H room and many need to use the 2 or 3 available restrooms on the lower level... also near the H room.

(Side Note: One of the restrooms in the lower level is frequently used for storage and I've never seen the shower used as noted in another post - not that it hasn't happened)

During the night when we are trying to sleep, we frequently hear and are fustrated by the banging of the doors when people try to close them, the baming of the doors by train movements because either people can't get them closed properly and because some just don't care to bother trying and/or be considerate of others. The whooshing of the flushes are also disturbing. BUT... as I already said, that's all proper and expected usage of the facilities. Increase this factor by X other passengers who don't pay for sleeper priviledges and it doesn't take much to realize the financial and health issues that can be caused through narcissistic or innocent usage by those who are not entitled.

As I use to say about work before I retired from public service, the vast majority of people are good people, but there are always a few that ruin things for others. I guess the same can be said about train travel as well!

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Crap, I forgot about getting put off the train. That would certainly not be too fun. I didn't know Amtrak staff takes it that seriously. I think I'll make due with deoderant... <_<

Heck, on my TE trip, they removed someone from the train for smoking. Didn't hear all the details, but I know they were taken off as I heard it on my scanner. Also we stopped in the middle of no-where to take a passenger off because they got sick. An ambulance was waiting. They just stopped at a crossing, helped them off and away we went. That would be a bad day.

Someone who smokes on the train being removed? I hope they didn't stop the train to remove him. Nay, he should be thrown off the train while its moving, preferably by Richard Kiel. Seriously, smoking on a train is a horrible, horrible thing to do, and damn straight he should be put off. I know people smoke, and thats unfortunate. I know its an addiction. You can do it on the platform at crew changes, or not take Amtrak, as far as I'm concerned.

Allthough I'm not a slob and take some pride in my appearence, I've gone 3 days straight with no shower during my busy holiday hours at work. When you walk out the door of your house at 7:30am and return home at 10pm or later, a shower sounds like more effort that I don't want to expend at that very moment. I usually will go to bed, lay out the same uniform in the other bedroom, get up and put on a fresh pair of sox and undies, brush the teeth, deodorant and walk back out the door for another 12+ hour day of work. This goes on for almost a month and I have learned that I don't have to shower up daily. Sometimes I just stick my head under the kitchen sink and shampoo it real quick. By the time Christmas arrives, no matter how much I have showered, I still look and feel like crud! :lol: I usually spend Janurary sleeping as much as I can. So I would easily be able to go 26 hours without a shower!

Can anybody beat me for not taking shower for 7 days? h34r: I did. Good thing that I was somewhere in the mountains with a breeze of mountain scents, backpacking.

I would agree that using washcloth is better than nothing.

I've gone for several weeks in a row without showering, bathing, or immersing myself in water. Its not pleasant, I know, but its doable. Certainly doing so for 26 hours is tolerable!

 

[Shotgun7]

Crap, I forgot about getting put off the train. That would certainly not be too fun. I didn't know Amtrak staff takes it that seriously. I think I'll make due with deoderant... <_<

Heck, on my TE trip, they removed someone from the train for smoking. Didn't hear all the details, but I know they were taken off as I heard it on my scanner. Also we stopped in the middle of no-where to take a passenger off because they got sick. An ambulance was waiting. They just stopped at a crossing, helped them off and away we went. That would be a bad day.

Someone who smokes on the train being removed? I hope they didn't stop the train to remove him. Nay, he should be thrown off the train while its moving, preferably by Richard Kiel. Seriously, smoking on a train is a horrible, horrible thing to do, and damn straight he should be put off. I know people smoke, and thats unfortunate. I know its an addiction. You can do it on the platform at crew changes, or not take Amtrak, as far as I'm concerned.

Allthough I'm not a slob and take some pride in my appearence, I've gone 3 days straight with no shower during my busy holiday hours at work. When you walk out the door of your house at 7:30am and return home at 10pm or later, a shower sounds like more effort that I don't want to expend at that very moment. I usually will go to bed, lay out the same uniform in the other bedroom, get up and put on a fresh pair of sox and undies, brush the teeth, deodorant and walk back out the door for another 12+ hour day of work. This goes on for almost a month and I have learned that I don't have to shower up daily. Sometimes I just stick my head under the kitchen sink and shampoo it real quick. By the time Christmas arrives, no matter how much I have showered, I still look and feel like crud! :lol: I usually spend Janurary sleeping as much as I can. So I would easily be able to go 26 hours without a shower!

Can anybody beat me for not taking shower for 7 days? h34r: I did. Good thing that I was somewhere in the mountains with a breeze of mountain scents, backpacking.

I would agree that using washcloth is better than nothing.

I've gone for several weeks in a row without showering, bathing, or immersing myself in water. Its not pleasant, I know, but its doable. Certainly doing so for 26 hours is tolerable!

I'm really okay going several days without a shower, in fact when I'm not planning to be around friends for a few days, I don't really care about my smell or appearance. I just enjoy showering on a train in particular. Also, since train vacations are the best I have, it's always nice to be refreshed for your second day on the rails and also be able to sit next to/across from somebody at a meal confident that your odor doesn't overpower that of the food they're eating.

 

[Neil_M]

I've gone for several weeks in a row without showering, bathing, or immersing myself in water. Its not pleasant, I know, but its doable. Certainly doing so for 26 hours is tolerable!

Several weeks?

You might be happy being a stinking humming thing but what about the people around you?

Several weeks with washing yourself is just not normal.

 

[Ryan]

Usually in that type of situation the people around you haven't bathed in weeks as well, so it isn't as big a deal as you make it out to be.

Pretty sure that GML didn't say that it was normal, but that's just me.

 

[VentureForth]

First choice: If you can't get an onboard upgrade for an entire leg, ask the conductor if a sleeper is available for a day portion between city pairs. IE: If you're going between BOS and SEA, you might could get a roomette for a portion of the trip that isn't sold. For instance, for tomorrow, amtrak.com shows that #49 is sold out between ALB & CHI. BUT, I also see that there is a viewliner roomette available from TOL to CHI (coach sold out). You may not be able to get a sleeper between Albany and Chicago, but perhaps just the last 4 hours or so from Toledo... The best part is that it'll be cheaper than the whole leg (if available) and you'll get metrolounge access in CHI (make sure you get a receipt). Same thing on the EB. Maybe something available from Spokane into Seattle.

Alternative choice: Wetwipes.

 

[frj1983]

Does anybody remember when even the Superliner Sleepers did not have showers?? :huh:

I've been riding Amtrak since the early 80's and I do remember the days when Superliner I Sleepers did not have showers in them...you did the same thing as people in coach did, you washed up (as best as you could) in the bathrooms or in your bedrooms.

I can't remember when the Superliner I Sleepers were retrofitted with showers (early 90's?), but there were times when there were no showers on board. Somehow people got on/along without showering!

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Does anybody remember when even the Superliner Sleepers did not have showers?? :huh:
I've been riding Amtrak since the early 80's and I do remember the days when Superliner I Sleepers did not have showers in them...you did the same thing as people in coach did, you washed up (as best as you could) in the bathrooms or in your bedrooms.

I can't remember when the Superliner I Sleepers were retrofitted with showers (early 90's?), but there were times when there were no showers on board. Somehow people got on/along without showering!

This is so much the point I was trying to make several posts ago. We have gotten spoiled to sleeping car showers(not that I would want them taken back). Generations of people years ago who rode the trains much more than they do now got along quite nicely without showers. As stated previously only seven or eight trains in the whole country even had a shower before Amtrak,and that was usually one shower in one private room in one car. The pre-Amtrak Sunset Limited had a shower in the lounge car--guess it was open to any sleeping car passengers, I am sure not coach. But most were not that public.

This is one of the ways Amtrak has clearly made progress over the "good old days". I wish I had tried a shower in the old pre-Amtrak days so I could compare. But it was not to be.

 

[VentureForth]

Heck, this could happen to you...

Off topic shoot. Sorry, but this story really bums me. At the request of the Texas Highway Patrol, I helped stop a man on the I-30 frontage road who was driving irradically. When the driver stopped, he got out of his car and approached mine asking for directions when the THP finally arrived. This guy could have caused about half a dozen serious wrecks by the way he was driving At the time, frontage roads on both the Eastbound and Westbound sides of the Interstate were bi-directional. That's since changed.

After the Trooper evaluated the driver, he came back to me and told me that the guy didn't have a lick of alcohol on him. Turned out he was diabetic and didn't have his insulin with him. He couldn't be charged with DUI, but I'm sure he could have been charged with reckless endangerment.

Fast forward to this story. Amtrak should have a breathalizer onboard to determine if someone who is acting beligerent is drunk or suffering from a medical anomolie. Either way, the passenger probably needed to be removed - just like the driver in my story needed to get off the road. But then the question becomes "By ambulance or by cop". At no time, EVER should Amtrak drop off a human being without some sort of postive transfer of responsibility. I'm thankful that this man was found and taken care of. Amtrak has some 'splainin' to do to the family.

 

[Guest]

Heck, this could happen to you...

Off topic shoot. Sorry, but this story really bums me. At the request of the Texas Highway Patrol, I helped stop a man on the I-30 frontage road who was driving irradically. When the driver stopped, he got out of his car and approached mine asking for directions when the THP finally arrived. This guy could have caused about half a dozen serious wrecks by the way he was driving At the time, frontage roads on both the Eastbound and Westbound sides of the Interstate were bi-directional. That's since changed.

After the Trooper evaluated the driver, he came back to me and told me that the guy didn't have a lick of alcohol on him. Turned out he was diabetic and didn't have his insulin with him. He couldn't be charged with DUI, but I'm sure he could have been charged with reckless endangerment.

Fast forward to this story. Amtrak should have a breathalizer onboard to determine if someone who is acting beligerent is drunk or suffering from a medical anomolie. Either way, the passenger probably needed to be removed - just like the driver in my story needed to get off the road. But then the question becomes "By ambulance or by cop". At no time, EVER should Amtrak drop off a human being without some sort of postive transfer of responsibility. I'm thankful that this man was found and taken care of. Amtrak has some 'splainin' to do to the family.

100% in agreement with you. Besides diabetes, strokes, and seizures, there are a number of conditions which are neurological in nature and could be misconstrued as an issue with alcohol or illegal drugs. The "walk the straight line with one foot in front of another" test IS a neurological test... the same one given by my neurologist every year for seizures. Several people have recently told of other balance issues, such as rocks in the ears, which can cause the inability to stay standing up... The list is long.

Note, that this topic (diabetic thrown off train) was covered on this forum last year. Although people with medical problems should travel responsibly, there are times when no amount of planning can prevent something from happening.

 

[Ghost]

Note, that this topic (diabetic thrown off train) was covered on this forum last year. Although people with medical problems should travel responsibly, there are times when no amount of planning can prevent something from happening.

I re-read that report, and I don't read in it anywhere, that this person was indeed suffering from any form of diabetic condition or any other medical condition that day. None at all.

His family, not himself, made a vague reference to the man possibly being diagnosed as having diabetes. There is nothing at all, that his man's diabetes (if he even really has such) is even serious enough to need medication or medical attention. Clearly, it wasn't even serious enough for him to have a medical ID bracelet.

Plus, we have no idea about how much he was liquor he consumed. I am sure that the conductor had a quick side chat with the lounge attendant about that, before making any decision.

 

[Guest]

Note, that this topic (diabetic thrown off train) was covered on this forum last year. Although people with medical problems should travel responsibly, there are times when no amount of planning can prevent something from happening.

I re-read that report, and I don't read in it anywhere, that this person was indeed suffering from any form of diabetic condition or any other medical condition that day. None at all.

His family, not himself, made a vague reference to the man possibly being diagnosed as having diabetes. There is nothing at all, that his man's diabetes (if he even really has such) is even serious enough to need medication or medical attention. Clearly, it wasn't even serious enough for him to have a medical ID bracelet.

Plus, we have no idea about how much he was liquor he consumed. I am sure that the conductor had a quick side chat with the lounge attendant about that, before making any decision.

Google "diabetic thrown off train" and different explanations pop up, some that seem to support that he had been recently diagnosed with diabetes (not enough time to adjust and get an medical id made). I don't know one way or the other who is correct but I do like one response to the situation: If Amtrak doesn't want to handle drunks, quit sousing the passengers with alcohol. The promotion last year (?) of cheap or free alcohol was a very dumb idea.